Kaare Klint

Kaare Klint (1888-1954) was a precursor to and teacher of the designers who made Danish modern style explode onto the international mid-century scene. In 1924 he helped to establish the influential Department of Furniture at the Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen and was a lecturer and Professor of Architecture there. Unlike the modernists, however, Klint worked with an unerring faith in the historical evolution of furniture forms and a commitment to the neo-classical designs. A substantial goal in his work was to take these pieces and try to rethink them and update them with the modern requirements. Although Klint counted among his devoted protégés Poul Kjaerholm and Børge Mogensen, many of his philosophies about design provided the backdrop against which the next generation of designers reacted.